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Big Data Trends in 2017

In my latest post, I look at the big data trends in 2017 from open source applications to blockchain-enabled smart contracts.

Gone of the days when “big data” was just a buzzword. Last year, almost 40% of companies are adopting big data technology into their daily operations, according to research that was conducted at Forrester.

In addition, many commentators have mentioned that big data adoption is unlikely die down anytime soon and that this technological adoption is not a fad but a huge necessity.

Companies such as Coca-Cola have been reported on their use of big data and were one of the first firms outside of the I.T. sector to stress the importance of big data. Coke’s chief big data officer, Esat Sezer mentioned back in 2012 that: “Social media, mobile applications, cloud computing and e-commerce are combining to give companies like Coca-Cola an unprecedented toolset to change the way they approach I.T. Behind all this, big data gives you the intelligence to cap it all off.” (Forbes, September, 2017).

Coke is a great example of how a major business has conducted its daily practises using big data from looking at data to help produce and market some its healthier options to customers.

A combination of satellite images, weather and crop yield data, pricing factors, and sweetness ratings, are taken into consideration in order to sustain a taste that suits all.

An algorithm is used to determine the best combination variables which match certain products to local consumers in over 200 countries around the world where their soft drinks are sold.

What I like about this is example is that a traditional company has thought outside of the box when it comes to targeting its consumers by focusing on big data and also AI. By doing this, Coke has once again got another huge competitive advantage from rethinking itself as more than a soft drinks company but also as technology driven behemoth.

Besides Coke doing some interesting things with Big data, what have been the main big data trends in 2017?

Open Source Applications Continue to Dominate

Open source applications such as Hadoop will continue to dominate the big data industry. Research conducted by SAS shows that nearly 60% of enterprises expect to have Hadoop clusters running in production by the end of the year. In addition, Forrester found that Hadoop usage is increasing 32.9% per year.

IoT – One of the Major Big Data Trends in 2017

Research from IDC 31.4% of organisations surveyed have launched IoT solutions, moreover, 40% of respondents stated they are planning to use IoT in the next 12 months.

Companies such as Siemens have combined both concepts for the transport industry. Through harnessing Big Data, sensors and predictive analytics they say they can now guarantee their customers close to 100% reliability.

They’ve coined their concept the “Internet of Trains” (the railway version of IoT), sensors and big data will drastically improve customer service by making train journeys more efficient.

In the future we could see the likes of airlines using a similar approach.

More Dark Data

This year we’ve seen many companies sifting through paper-based files, photos, videos, and other corporate assets that are lying in storage closets and putting them to use and turning them into big data.

So why is this useful? Looking back at historical trends can help an organisation when it comes to planning, it can also be an essential tool when it comes to situations such as supporting evidence for trademark infringement and intellectual property violation claims.

Machine Learning

Big data analytics capabilities have advanced over the years which has meant that machine learning has been adopted to analyse extremely large data sets and come to conclusions without being explicitly programmed.

Tony Baer’s Big Data trends report states: “Machine learning, which has garnered its share of hype, will continue to grow; but in most cases, machine learning will be embedded in applications and services rather than custom-developed because few organisations outside the Global 2000 (or digital online businesses) will have data scientists on their staff.”

Machine learning has been one of biggest disruptors for big data analytics that we have seen so far this year.

Big Data and Blockchain Technology

Last year blockchain technology grabbed a lot of media attention and its exposure has shown how it will drastically change an array of industries and organisations.

The technology is commonly associated with cryptocurrencies and the finance industry, however, it’s function is more versatile than just recording transactions.

Blockchain will also be used for recording smart contracts. In a nutshell, smart contracts are traditional contracts, but written in code. For all you coder/developer types out there, you’ll be familiar with “If This Then That” statements, these smart contracts are like that, but are at a more complex level.

This year we’ve seen platforms such as Ethereum grow and overtime we’ll see a lot more of the decentralised internet evolve and with that, smart contracts will play a huge role in Blockchain 2.0.

Big Data Trends in 2017 – What are your thoughts?

What are your thoughts about big data? What other trends would you have added to the list? Feel free to get in contact about the subject. Tweet me @daviddhannoo or alternatively, connect with me on Linkedin. I’d love to hear from you!